Lay Strip Footing: Driving the Stakes

Drive in a stake at each end of the trench down to footing depth, and at intervals of 3 to 6 feet. Make sure they are vertical.

Lay Strip Footing: Check the Level

Rest a level across the tops of adjacent stakes to make sure they are level.

Lay Strip Footing: Pour Concrete

Pour concrete into the trench up to the top of the stakes.

Lay Strip Footing: Smooth Concrete

Use a metal float to smooth the concrete. The footings should be left to dry for a few days before building the wall.

Lay the First Bricks: Use Lines as Guides

Attach lines to the nails on your profile boards to provide a guide for the first course of bricks.

Lay the First Bricks: Dry Lay the First Row

Dry-lay the first row of bricks allowing for mortar joints of 1/2 inch. Cut half-bricks to maintain the bond.

Lay the First Bricks: Lay Mortar

Mix up some mortar and lay a bed just over 1/2 inch deep for the first three bricks at the start of the first course.

Lay the First Bricks: Make Furrows

Use the point of the trowel to make some furrows in the mortar along its central line.

Lay the First Bricks: Install Bricks

Lay the first brick, applying a little pressure to bed it into the mortar. Use a level to check its alignment with the string lines above. In this example, simple piers are being constructed at each end of the wall.

Complete the Course: Butter the Ends

Butter the end of the next brick and position it next to the first on the bed of mortar.

Complete the Course: Check the Level

Lay a level across the top of the bricks to check that they are level. Apply more pressure to the top of the bricks where required in order to get them level.

Complete the Course: Remove Excess

Cut away excess mortar from around the brick bases, and remove excess mortar from the vertical joints. Check and recheck their position, using the level across the top.

Complete the Course: Remove Profile Boards

Continue along the course, positioning two or three bricks at a time and then cleaning the joints. Remove the profile boards and lines when the course is complete.

Rack the Ends: Check the Level

Start building the pier and the end of the wall by three more courses. This is the best practice and will make it easier to fill in the rest of the bricks later. Use a level to check that the pier is plumb and level.

Rack the Ends: Use Gauging Rod

Use your gauging rod to keep the mortar joints even.

Rack the Ends: Add Two More Courses

Add two more courses so you have a series of stepped bricks leading up to the top of the pier. Keep checking levels using the gauging rod and level.

Infill the Courses: Use the Level

Repeat the racking procedure at the other end of the wall. Use a level as shown to check bond and levels.

Infill the Courses: Drive in Line Pins

Drive line pins into the mortar joint above the first course of bricks at each end. Tie a line between them. Use this as a guide to fill in bricks for the second course.

Infill the Courses: Fill the Top

Fill in all the way to the top if the wall is to extend no higher than you have racked. Otherwise, rack back each end once you have filled in two or three courses.

Infill the Courses: Lay the Top Course

Lay the top course of the wall indented-side down. Alternatively, you can lay other types of coping to finish the top of the wall.